Stencil book



y 1940. E. c. DAVIDSON 2,201,479

STENCIL BOOK Filed Feb. 8, 1939 2 Shets-Sheet 1 y 21, 1940- E. c. DAVIDSON 2,201,479

STENCIL BOOK Filed Feb. 8, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Patented May 21, 1940 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFlCE- 1 I 10 Claims. (Cl. 35 26) A large variety of stencil outfits have been proposed for children heretofore but there have been several respects in which they have" not been wholly satisfactory. For example, they have for the most part been relatively costly to produce because of the fact that stencils require cutting knives or dies which are relatively expensive to produce. In some complicated stencil setsseveral stencils were required for one drawing. According to the present invention the cost per drawing is greatly reduced by utilizing one stencil for two or more drawings.

Another difiiculty with stencils heretofore has been that their use has been a little too complicated for small children. A loose stencil and a loose sheet of paper are not really easy to use, and complicated holding arrangements require considerable assistance of adults in their operation. According to the present invention the stencils and the drawing sheets are bound together in a book so that the stencils are auto matically held in the proper position with respect to at least some of the drawing sheets. Furthermore, this advantage is accomplished without loss of the multiple use of stencils since the stencils are so arranged that they may be shifted to two or more drawing sheets. This has the additional advantage of permitting a portion of the figure to be printed or impressed on the drawing sheet itself so that for very small children only the simplest portions of the figure need be stenciled and lined by hand. Although some forms of the invention may seem to lack the simplicity here discussed because of the large number of positions to which a stencil can be moved, this does not negative the simplicitylbecause if a child overlooks one or two stencil positions no harm is done. 1

Additional objectsand advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the stencil book partly opened out.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the, stencil book opened out more completely and the stencil turned to the position for use on the first drawing sheet.

Fig. 3 is a corresponding stencil turned for use on another drawing sheet or rather on the back of the first drawing sheet.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of anotherportion of the book opened out to show an arrangement according to which the stencil is adapted to be used on three or more diiferent drawing sheets, includ the "stencil sheet II.

view showing the.

ing both sides of each desired. i

Figs. 5 to 11 are more or less diagrammatic perspective views of the structure shown in Fig. 4, showing the book folded to seven different positions for using the same stencil in completing seven different drawings; 1 Although only two forms of stencil books have been chosen for illustration, it should be understood that the invention may take numerous forms. Furthermore, it should be understood that the specific drawings illustrated are merely examples of the innumerable drawings which could be. provided. In Fig. 1 the stencil book is shown partially open to expose the stencil sheet H and a drawing sheet l2 folded therefromat the free end of The sheet H with its extension :l2 willybe bound in the book in any'conventional manner. The stencil'sheet H has a stencil l3 which is in the form of a tongue out from the stencil sheet I I along the line 14 so that it folds along the fold l5 between the sheets H and I2. a In Fig. 2 the book has been shown opened out further withthe stencil I 3 folded onto'page A of drawing sheet !2. The letters A to K shown in the drawings are intended as reference letters and would not normally appear on the pages of the book. It will be noted that the more difficult portions of the drawing have been impressed or printed by lines [6 directly on page A. For the sakeof convenience the term impressed may be used to include either printing orimpressing Without ink, or a combination of the two. When ink is used, it may be'either a heavy ink intended to complete the picture without aid from the child or it may be a very light ink intended merely as a complete guide for the child.

In Fig. 3 the stencil l3 has been folded around in the drawings, in which thedrawing on page A shows a vase of flowers while the drawing on page B shows a clown. Of course, it is'not necessary that the entire stencil be used in each instance and, if desired, guide marks may be provided for showing which cuts of the stencils should be used. Thus, on the side of the stencil l3 which is to be used for the drawing on page A, lines are shown connecting all the-stencil cuts except the cuts H which are not necessary in drawing the vase. On the other sideof thesten adjacent to the stencil if Q oil l3, however, which is exposed when tracing through the stencil cuts onto page B, the inked lines connect all of the stencil cuts showing that they are all to be used. It should be noted that, although the stencil cuts I! show up quite clearly in Fig. 2, they would in practice normally be mere single knife cuts as would the stencil cuts 8 which are to be used, and hence the cuts I! would not be conspicuous and a child would probably ignore them in the absence of the connecting lines. As a further aid to the child, "a small duplicate of the figure to be completed could be printed on sheet or leaf H, which is g. blank leaf in the sense that it is not used as a drawing sheet. Even if the cuts H were used, the drawing would not be spoiled as the lines they suggest would be suitable decoration.

Although the stencil l3 folds out from the stencil sheet so as to be used in a plurality of different drawings, it is obvious that it can be made to fit both drawings exactly and that it will always fold to the same position so that it is not necessary for the child to hold it perfectly still. It should also be noted that, although Figs. 2 and 3 show the book opened out with the stenciling taking place beyond the normal boundaries of the book, the sheets could be so folded that the stenciling would take place within the boundarie of the book so as to furnish better support for the stenciling. Thus, the sheet could be folded to the left in Fig. 2 and the sheet 12 folded down upon it, exposing page A and the corresponding face of the stencil l3 to the left of the center of the book instead of in the position in which they are shown in Fig. 2.

For some purposes the same results could be obtained by simply cutting the stencil in the sheet without cutting a separate tongue from the sheet and then using adjacent sheets for the drawing, but the use of a narrow tongue has the advantage, however, that it leaves the parts of the drawing which are not to be stenciled exposed, and the folding of the tongue along the line I5 has the additional advantage of facilitating the use of a single stencil for more than two drawings, as illustrated in Figs. 4 to 11.

In Fig. 4 stencil sheet 3| is shown having a drawing sheet 32 folded therefrom and a stencil 33 cut from the stencil sheet 3| and folding along the line 35, this structure being the same as that shown in Figs. lto 3 although the drawing and stencil cuts are different. In this instance, however, a second drawing sheet 33 having still another drawing sheet 3'! forming an extension thereof has been illustrated as adapted for the use of the same stencil 33. As a matter of fact, this same stencil 33 may be used on as many pages as may be desired. Both of the sheets or leaves 36 and 3'! havebeen shown as if they had already been marked throughstencil 33.

Seven different positions for the stencil 33 have been illustrated in Figs. 5 to 11. For convenience the two sides of the stencil 33 have been lettered C and D, and the various pages to which the stencil has been shown as applied are lettered E to K. In Figs. 5, 6, and 8 to 11 the stencil sheet is used in six positions on the two sides of the sheets shown in Fig. 4, which may in fact be one sheet at the center of the book. In Fig. '7, however, the stencil 33 has been shown as applied to a page E in front of the stencil sheet 3|, this being accomplished simply by drawing through the stencil 33 in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 4.

If we consider the stencil 33 as being applied to the pages of the book in the order in which they appear in the book, the next position will be that shown in Fig. 6 in which the face C of the stencil 33 is exposed on page F, which is the other side of sheet or leaf 32 as seen in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 8 the stencil C has been folded around to expose its face D on page G. This is equivalent to merely folding the stencil C from the position shown in Fig. 4E to the 'left onto sheet or leaf 32. With respect to each of this series Figures 5to 11, it should be noted that the illustration of drawings have been omitted except on the page shown as in use.

In Fig. 5 sheets 3| and 32 have together been folded over to the right so that stencil 33 is positioned over sheet 33. In this instance face D of stencil 33 is exposed, and drawing through the stencil will mark page H.

In Fig.9 extension 32 has been folded back and stencil 33 has been folded out so that face C thereof is exposed on page I.

In Fig. l the stencil 33 is in the same position as in Fig. but instead of lying on sheet 36 it lies on the back of sheet 31, which extension of sheet 36 has been folded to lie in front of sheet 36. Thus, the stencil is now being used on page J, which is the back side of page I.

In Fig. 11 the stencil is being used on page K, which is the back side of page H. Briefly stated, this is accomplished by inserting the folded double sheet 36 and 3'! under the stencil tongue 33, i. e. between it and the sheet 3| from which it is out. In other words, this operation is accomplished by folding the sheets 3| and 32 to the position shown in Fig. 8, and then folding the folded sheets 36 and 31 from their position in Fig. to the left, after which the stencil tongue or flap 33 is folded over to the right to lie on top of page K.

It should be understood that in like manner additional sheets could be folded under the stencil tongue 33, but it is believed that six or seven diiferent drawings from a single stencil will be adequate and in fact more than will be desired ordinarily. Of course, the use of one stencil several times has some advantages with children since they become more familiar with it and it therefore becomes easier for them. As shown in Fig. 4, the remaining portions of the figures impressed on the drawing sheets may be quite different so that there will be no feeling of monotony even though the same stencil is used quite a few times. Successive stencils bound in different parts of one book or in a series of books may have fewer and fewer cuts so that the child will gradually develop an ability to draw without stencils.

From the foregoing it is seen that an arrangement has been provided whereby a single stencil may be used for two or more drawings and the entire outfit bound as a book so that the use of the stencil is as simple as possible. It will always fold to the correct position and therefore need not be held firmly by the child. The more difficult parts of the drawing may be completed or fully indicated by impressions on the drawing sheet. Inasmuch as the entire outfit is bound together, it is easily handled and cannot be strewn about as is the case with most stencil outfits.

The disclosures of this application are illustrative and the invention is not to be limited by them. In fact, if modifications or improvements are not at once obvious, they may be devised in the course of time to make additional use of the broad ideas taught and covered by this application. The claims are intended to point out novel features and not to limit the invention except as may be required by prior art.

I claim: 7 1. A stencil and drawing book including a plurality of leaves bound along a common binding line, one of said leaves having an extension folded approximately along the edge line of the book and having a stencil flap cut from said leaf and foldably connected to said extension along said line whereby it is adapted to be positioned accurately as to the intended position of use adjacent opposite sides of another of said leaves.

2. A stencil and drawing book including a sheet bound in the book along a given line and folded along a second line spaced therefrom to form two leaves, a stencil being cut from one leaf and adapted to fold in either direction to lie adjacent either face of the other leaf.

3. A stencil and drawing book including a sheet bound in the book along one line and folded along a second line spaced therefrom to divide the sheet into two leaves, one of said leaves having a stencil cut therein and said sheet being foldable to position said stencil against opposite faces of the other leaf, said stencil having a non-symmetrical stencil design and each face of said other leaf having impressed thereon demarcations registering with the stencil as it is presented to that face whereby the same stencil may be used for two different drawings.

4. A stencil and drawing book including a plurality of leaves bound along a common line, one of said leaves having a non-symmetrical stencil design cut therein, and the adjacent leaves being substantially blank opposite said stencil whereby the stencil may be used to outline different figures on the two adjacent leaves.

5. A stencil and drawing book including a plurality of sheets bound along a common line to form a plurality of leaves, one of said leaves having a stencil cut therein and the adjacent leaves having surfaces suitable for drawing whereby figures may be traced through said stencil onto the two adjacent leaves, and said adjacent leaves having impressed thereon additional different demarcations for adding to the figures traced through the stencil.

6. A stencil and drawing outfit including a sheet of paper folded toform two leaves, oneof which has a stencil cut therein which is adapted to fold adjacent opposite faces of the other leaf,

and both sides of said other leaf having surfaces suitable for drawing whereby figures may be traced through said stencil on the opposite sides of the same leaf, and said leaf having on each side additional demarcations impressed thereon for adding to the figures traced through the stencil.

'7. A stencil and drawing outfit including a sheet of paper folded to form two leaves, one of which has a stencil out therein whichis adapted to fold upon adjacent opposite faces of the other leaf, and both sides of said other leaf having surfaces suitable for drawing whereby figures may be traced through said stencil on the opposite sides of the same leaf. 8. A stencil and drawing book including firs and second sheets adjacent to one another and bound along a common binding line, the first sheet folded along a given line remote from the binding line to form two pages on each side of the sheet, the ,econd sheet including a portion adapted to extend outwardly beyond said remote line and having a stencil flap cut out from said second sheet, connected to said flap and extending inwardly therefrom, and being free from said second sheet from a position even with said remote line inwardly whereby it is adapted to be positioned accurately as to the intended position of use adjacent any one of the four pages formed by the first sheet, as the first sheet is folded in opposite directions. I

9. A stencil and drawing book including first and second sheets adjacent to one another and bound along a common binding line, the first sheet folded along a given line remote from the binding line to form two pageson each side of the sheet, the second sheet including a portion adapted to extend outwardly beyond said remote line and having a stencil flap .cut out from said second sheet, connected to said flap and extending inwardly therefrom, and being free from said second sheet from a position even with said remote line inwardly whereby it is adapted to be positioned accurately as to the intended position of use adjacent any one of the four pages formed by the first sheet, as the first sheet is folded in opposite directions; said outward extension being approximately page-size whereby it forms two additional pages on the opposite sides thereof against which the stencil may be folded.

10. A stencil and drawing book including first and second sheets adjacent to one another and bound along a common binding line, the first sheet forming pages on opposite faces terminating along a line remote from the binding line, the second sheet including a portion adapted to extend. outwardly beyond said remote line and having a stencil flap cut out from said second sheet, connected to said flap and extending inwardly therefrom, and being free from said second sheet from a position even with said remote line inwardly whereby it is adapted to be positioned accurately as to. the intended position of use adjacent pages on the opposite sides of said first sheet.

ELLIO'I'I c. DAVIDSON. 

